Mail call: Arkansas gets message across to Gragg
Junior tight end Will Gragg of Pine Bluff said Arkansas tight ends coach Barry Lunney Jr. had a message for him and his mother during his Aug. 4 visit to Arkansas.
“He said they’ll do whatever it takes to keep the top players in the state,” Gragg said.
Gragg saw proof of that after arriving home Tuesday and seeing 83 handwritten letters from the Razorbacks.
“I thought they had sent them to the wrong person at first,” Gragg said. “I was like, ‘Golly, it’s just crazy’. That’s all I could say about it. It’s crazy just to know someone could want you this bad. It’s humbling.”
Gragg, 6-4, 233 pounds, 4.8 seconds in the 40-yard dash, is one of the top junior prospects in the state with scholarship offers from Arkansas, Alabama, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt. The large quantity of mail was a hit with Gragg.
“That’s big,” Gragg said. “That really shows how much they … how seriously they take recruiting in the state of Arkansas.”
His father, Kelvin, and mother, Tenita, were just as startled.
“They were like, ‘We’re going to start giving the mailman a box so he can start putting them in there,’ ” Gragg said. “They couldn’t even find the bills and other things like that they needed, so that was pretty funny.”
The mailbox was filled to capacity, so a good amount of it was slipped under the carport door. Gragg said the letters were from all the members of the coaching staff, including Coach Bret Bielema.
“I was thinking they probably threw in the camera guy, the ball boy,” Gragg said laughing.
The letters also had various messages.
“Look at the way we use the tight ends,” said Gragg, describing the written messages. “Play for your home state and all that good stuff that the people of Arkansas love.”
Gragg said his brother, former Razorback and current Buffalo Bills tight end Chris Gragg, was envious.
“He said he never got this type of treatment,” Gragg said. “I think he got a little bit jealous.”
LOTS OF LETTERS
Arkansas has impressed junior receiver Shadell Bell by being one of the schools that sent him the most mail, and he said he is looking forward to talking to the Hogs.
“My coach said they like me and they should be calling in a few days,” Bell said.
Bell, 6-3, 197, 4.58 seconds in the 40 yard dash, of Decatur, (Ga.) Columbia has eight scholarship offers, including Alabama, Tennessee, Duke, Virginia, Marshall and North Carolina State. Should the Hogs offer, he said it’s likely he’ll visit.
“It would be a high percentage,” said Bell, who has a 3.3 grade-point average. “They’re not too far. They’re right around this region so I should be able to get there sooner or later.”
As a sophomore, Bell had about 25 receptions for 250 yards and 6 touchdowns during a trying season when the school lost their offensive coordinator in the middle of the season.
“From what I hear, schools tell me they like how I attack the ball at the highest point,” said Bell, who has 9 receptions for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns in two games. “I can create a lot of mismatches with cornerbacks and safeties. I can create separation.”
SHINING PLAY
Arkansas quarterback commitments Rafe Peavey and Ty Storey continued to shine during the early part of the season with strong performances Friday night.
Peavey, a 2014 pledge, completed 17 of 20 passes for 225 yards and 3 touchdowns while running 17 times for 97 yards and a touchdown in Bolivar, (Mo.) High School’s 34-14 victory over Class 5A Harrisonville. The 6-foot-2, 207-pound signal caller with 4.5 speed in the 40-yard dash is rated a 4-star prospect by national recruiting analyst Tom Lemming of CBS College Sports.
Storey, 6-3, 217, 4.92 seconds in the 40-yard dash, lead Charleston to a 23-15 victory over Gentry by completing 32 of 47 passes for 394 yards and 3 touchdowns. His long completion for a score went for 95 yards. A 2015 commitment to the Hogs, Storey was named to Lemming’s Sophomore All American team last year.
Email Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansasonline.com